Shaping the Southeastern Park Experience: How Monitoring Plant Communities Makes a Difference

Guided by park staff, young visitors at Great Smoky Mountains National Park explore protected natural areas. Hands-on learning experiences like this help foster a love for nature, teach the importance of conservation, and show how scientists and rangers work to protect America’s national treasures.

NPS / Chalice Keith

A ranger prepares children for a family hike. Federal park protections ensure America’s unique outdoor spaces remain accessible for families to enjoy together for generations to come.

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How do Parks Monitor and Respond to Change?

NPS scientists and staff work together to protect park vegetation and the ecosystems it supports. From prescribed burns in pine savannas to invasive species removal in coastal forests, many management actions begin with one thing: science-based knowledge of what’s changing and why.

To facilitate understanding, scientists from the NPS Inventory & Monitoring (I&M) Division conduct long-term vegetation monitoring in more than 40 parks across the Southeast. Results and analyses from these monitoring programs inform park management decisions.

Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a common target for poachers and often found along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian Highlands Network.

Gary Kauffman / USFS

NPS scientists collect data on native and invasive plant species, plant community structure and composition, and habitat conditions and disturbances using a combination of field surveys and technological tools. The resulting data and analyses help park managers better understand ecosystem dynamics and inform effective management actions such as restoration, replanting, and habitat protection.

Featured Plant Monitoring Programs in the Southeast

National Seashores and Coastal Parks

In the South Florida/Caribbean Network parks (and others), coastal and island ecosystems are rapidly changing, making monitoring more crucial than ever. These photos depict the same vegetation monitoring plot in Dry Tortugas National Park from different angles. The photo on the left, taken in 2012, showcases a large black mangrove and other live vegetation near the island's shoreline. Twelve years later, the 2024 monitoring photo on the right shows a complete loss of vegetation due primarily to Hurricane Ian in 2022. An extreme plant mortality event like this one reduces wildlife habitat, jeopardizes ecosystem health, and increases vulnerability to erosion and land loss.

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Parks along the southeastern coastlines provide unparalleled access to stunning seashores, remote barrier islands, productive marshlands, and a wide range of nearshore forests and scrublands. The plant communities in these parks face a unique suite of threats, including the combined effects of hurricanes, erosion, land subsidence—gradual sinking or settling of the Earth's surface due to various natural and human-induced factors—and sea level rise.

In Virgin Islands National Park, a lush, wooded forest is marked with yellow transect tape used for active vegetation monitoring. The tape defines study plots, enabling scientists to track plant species, study forest ecology, and assess how debris and other disturbances affect ecosystem health over time.

NPS

NPS ecologists working in coastal parks use long-term vegetation monitoring to help managers evaluate how vulnerable different coastal habitats may be to future climate conditions, enabling them to create strategies to make these areas more resilient to storms and rising sea levels. For example, the South Florida/Caribbean Network has long-term study sites in two large national parks with extensive coastal wetlands, pinelands, and hardwood hammocks: Big Cypress National Park and Everglades National Park. The plant communities there evolve due to various factors like water levels, salt content, fire, frost, terrain, sunlight, soil type, and depth. Monitoring these communities helps park managers understand how they change over time, which is essential for effective management strategies.

Further north and west along the coasts, similar projects are underway by the Gulf Coast Network and the Southeast Coast Network. These two networks collectively span over 4,000 miles of coastline, from deep South Texas to the outer banks of North Carolina. Long-term monitoring takes place in six national seashores—Gulf Islands, Padre Island, Cumberland Island, Canaveral, Cape Hatteras, and Cape Lookout—as well as four other coastal parks including Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. Results from long-term vegetation monitoring in park grasslands, scrublands, mangroves, and maritime forests help park staff determine which management actions could best ensure ecosystem stability, which helps sustain these treasured coastal resources for today’s visitors and for future generations.

Forests of the Southeast

A Southeast Coast Network plant monitoring team is collecting data from small-scale vegetation monitoring plots. This type of monitoring is beneficial as it allows for the early identification of new and invasive species, enhancing our understanding of plant biodiversity and ecosystem health within parks. This approach contributes to improved efficiencies in park management strategies.

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Southeastern forests include some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the country and new plant species continue to be discovered. More than 30 national parks protect these unique forested areas. Four of the region’s five I&M networks have long-term monitoring projects in these forests, where changes in plants are measured and monitored. Changes in plant species can then be correlated with trends in “key stressors” for each park. At parks like Little River Canyon National Preserve and Kings Mountain National Military Park in the Cumberland Piedmont Network, key stressors include changing weather patterns, insect pests and diseases, and invasive plant species. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which has its own monitoring program run by park staff, examines the impacts of those stressors as well, and tracks levels of air pollution. Further south in the Gulf Coast Network and Southeast Coast Network, invasive feral hogs and altered fire regimes are additional stressors in forests, impacting parks like Congaree National Park and Big Thicket National Preserve. Findings from these forest monitoring projects help parks to effectively address new threats to the ecosystem and develop strategies for restoring and preserving habitats, like the Cove Hardwood Forests and Longleaf Pine Savannas.

Spotlight on Rare Communities: Cobble Bar Monitoring

Cobble bar in Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area in the Appalachian Highlands Network. Cobble bars may contain plant species not found anywhere else on earth.

NPS

The Appalachian Highlands Network monitors cobble bars—natural geological formations found in river systems and streams that are composed primarily of rounded stones—at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and Obed Wild and Scenic River.

NPS in partnership with state and other federal agencies monitors and works together to provide park managers data and analysis used to decide how to protect and manage these unique and vulnerable communities.

NPS

Cobble bars contain rare plant and animal communities and are crucial habitats for several species, including the federally threatened Cumberland rosemary (Conradina verticillata) and Virginia spirea (Spiraea virginiana). But many cobble bars have disappeared in river systems due to dams that may raise water levels or stop natural flooding. In addition, cobble bars are particularly sensitive to drought, upstream water use, and pollution. Furthermore, the absence of natural flooding allows non-native invasive plants to spread, potentially outcompeting native species. The loss of cobble bars not only results in the loss of habitat but also diminishes their benefits to the environment like reducing erosion, filtering water, and absorbing excess water, which can mitigate excessive flooding in some areas.

The Future of Southeastern Plant Communities

National parks in the biodiversity-rich Southeast face increasing threats from invasive species, habitat loss, and rapidly changing climate conditions. But I&M’s dedicated staff—in collaboration with public, private, and academic partners—continue to equip park managers with essential information needed to manage and build more resilient plant communities. This work and collaboration enable more efficient resource management and help identify cost-saving opportunities. By prioritizing plant health and conservation, national parks can sustain vital habitats for wildlife, protect biodiversity, and provide opportunities for outdoor enjoyment and education for future generations.

This article is part of a series. Read more:

Rooted in the Southeast: Learning from Plants in Familiar Places

Southeastern Plants: Ecosystem Anchors Under Threat

Southeast Vegetation Monitoring

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  Appalachian Highlands Network

  The Appalachian Highlands Network monitors rare plant communities called Cumberlandian cobble bars, or "river scour prairies."

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  Cumberland Piedmont Network

  Preserving forest vegetation communities is a priority for parks within the Cumberland Piedmont Network.

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  Gulf Coast Network

  Gulf Coast Network parks contain unique plant communities, from the diverse groundcover of pine savannahs to species-rich forests.

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  South Florida/Caribbean Network

  Forest communities are an important natural resource and cover a large portion of the park units of the South Florida/Caribbean Network.

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  Southeast Coast Network

  Over 3,000 plant species are found within 180 vegetation communities in the Southeastern Coast Network.